This invention relates generally to fitness equipment and, more particularly, to a balance board exercise apparatus that enables a user to exercise with resistance bands while balancing on the apparatus in a teetering configuration or in a stationary configuration.
Fitness equipment for use with resistance bands is popular and effective for both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. While resistance bands can simulate lifting weights, they may also be used as part of a more complete aerobic workout. Portable fitness products having built-in resistance equipment that extend out of fixed points exist on the market today, such as the fitness products sold under the trademark names WORKOUT 180™, JOURNEY GYM™, and REEBOK® CORE TRAINER, and the like.
Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the integrated exercise equipment and resistance bands tend to be unreliable and often experience breakage. Further, equipment currently including resistance bands require users to grasp the band handles from the same point in each iteration of an exercise. Obviously, usage becomes very repetitive, boring, and of limited recurring value. In other words, a user's fitness progress is likely to plateau.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a balance board style fitness apparatus configured for use with resistance bands that combines the benefits of a balance board with the benefits of resistance band training. Specifically, a balance board causes a user's core muscles to fire repeatedly as the board is balanced. Further, it would be desirable to have a balance board style fitness apparatus that enables the position of resistance bands to be adjusted by a user both before and during exercise. Combining a balance board workout with resistance bands that may be repositioned provides an improved and beneficial health benefit.